Time to Raise That Iron Curtain Again!

Federal prosecutors alleged 11 people were spies living secret lives in American communities, from Seattle to Washington D.C., sent years ago to infiltrate U.S. society and glean its secrets.

In an extensive and bizarre affidavit whose details echoed Cold War spy thrillers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation claimed the alleged spies were sent here by the Russian overseas intelligence service known as the SVR — the successor to the Soviet KGB — as early as the mid-1990s, and were provided with training in language as well as the use of codes and ciphers.

Their mission, according to the FBI, was contained in an encrypted 2009 message from Russian handlers in Moscow to one of the defendants that read in part: "You were sent to USA for long-term service trip. Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc. — all these serve as one goal: fulfill your main mission, i.e. to search and develop ties in policy-making circles in U.S. and send Intels [intelligence reports] to" Moscow.

One of the 10 alleged Russian spies already arrested by the FBI had a fake British passport to help her to travel to and from Russia, it was alleged Tuesday.

A woman calling herself Tracey Lee Ann Foley and posing as a naturalized U.S. citizen traveled to Moscow on the passport forged for her by Russian intelligence services, it was claimed.

The woman was instructed in a coded internet message to pick up the passport in Vienna, sign it and “train yourself to be able to reproduce your signature when necessary."

The message from her handlers at the SVR, the Russian spy agency which succeeded the Soviet KGB, ends: “In the passport you’ll get a memo with recommendations. Pls, destroy the memo after reading. Be well.”

Gentle readers, mark my words: In the coming weeks, Rahm Emmanuel will pump the MSM "Blame Bush" machine to its maximum over this!

Of course, was it any wonder why George W. Bush was so eager to place missle defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic?? The again, President Apologia has been more-than-eager to embrace those lying Cossacks Putin and Medvedev AND eliminate Bush's defense plans for Eastern Europe.

Tempest in a Tea (Party) Cup?

A group of retired Marines is asking Connecticut's attorney general to allow the "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden flag to fly over the state Capitol on July 4 after Capitol Police refused the request saying it doesn’t fall within the state’s flag flying parameters.

The group says the yellow banner, which sports a coiled rattlesnake and its trademark motto, is the original flag of the U.S. Marine Corps and clearly fits into the section of the policy which states that the Connecticut State Capitol can fly “flags of recognized military organizations of the U.S.A.”

But Capitol Police have denied several requests to fly the flag -- which has become a favorite nationwide among the Tea Party movement and a popular alternative to the stars and stripes – saying it is not the official Marines flag.

“The Gadsden flag was a personal standard used by one admiral during the Revolutionary War,” Capitol Chief of Police Walter Lee told FoxNews.com. “The Marine Corps never claimed that to be one of its organizational flags.”

(snip)

“Historically, it’s like when you look at a picture of George Washington; he was the first president of the United States so as a patriotic American you look to George Washington as kind of representation as the forefather of the country,” McCall said. “The Gadsden flag is the original flag of the Marine Corps, so it’s the forefather standard of the Marine Corps.”

Rubino says that’s what the Connecticut government needs to keep in mind above anything else.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Once Again: From My Cold, Dead Hands!

In its second major ruling on gun rights in three years, the Supreme Court Monday extended the federally protected right to keep and bear arms to all 50 states. The decision will be hailed by gun rights advocates and comes over the opposition of gun control groups, the city of Chicago and four justices.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the five justice majority saying "the right to keep and bear arms must be regarded as a substantive guarantee, not a prohibition that could be ignored so long as the States legislated in an evenhanded manner."

The ruling builds upon the Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller that invalidated the handgun ban in the nation's capital. More importantly, that decision held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was a right the Founders specifically delegated to individuals. The justices affirmed that decision and extended its reach to the 50 states. Today's ruling also invalidates Chicago's handgun ban.

Bye-Bye Birdie!

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving senator in American history, died Monday at the age of 92, a spokesman for the family said.

Byrd, a Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate since 1959, had been plagued by health problems in recent years and was confined to a wheelchair. He had skipped several votes in Congress in the past months.

Jesse Jacobs, a family spokesman, said Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va.

He was the oldest member of the 111th Congress.

The passing of Sen. Byrd will not affect the balance of power in the Senate. West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, a Democrat, will appoint a replacement senator to serve out the remainder of Byrd's term, which ends in 2012.Byrd threw his support behind Barack Obama a week after the then-senator lost the West Virginia Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential campaign -- an endorsement that symbolized the shift in his views on race.

Once a member of the Klu Klux Klan, it was the defining moment in his lifelong effort to convince the American public of his changed views on race.

"I have done my best to do the right thing," Byrd said during a March 2005 interview with Fox News, during which he was questioned about his KKK membership in the early 1940s.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

A Latter Hotness

Maybe, as I slide into my late 40s, my tastes in women are becoming more "age-appropriate," or as my brain begins to rewire itself as part of my inevitable slide into dementia, but Kyra Sedgwick is REALLY looking hot in this year's CLOSER promo.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

McChrystal and Obama - Two Men "Acting Stupidly"

One the one hand, we have General Stanley McChrystal; like all military officers, he was trained to comport himself in a gentlemanly manner: obey the chain of command and follow the orders of his civilian leaders. And when those orders raise questions, the conflict is best handled behind closed doors, among equals and in a manner that doesn't create dissent among the rank-and-file.

Was it a calculated move to change policy gone bad, or was it the final straw of a commander, cut off at the knees and saddled with a winnable war fought under unwinnable rules? Maybe we'll find out in his Playboy interview....

On the other hand, we have the root cause of all this military angst: one Barack Obama, President of the United States, Command-in-Chief of it's military, and presumptive "leader of the free world."

President and Commander Obama is currently engaged on a whirlwind, four-year apologia tour of the world. He bows and supplicates before our subordinates. He apologizes to our enemies and alienates and embarrasses our allies.

Like the last Democratic president, he has no military experience. That president bartered away our military might in favor of a "peace dividend" all while ignoring a growing worldwide threat.

This president? Well, let's just hope he treats Afghanistan the same way he should be treating the Gulf disaster: STAY OUT OF IT AND LET THE PEOPLE WITH THE EXPERIENCE MAKE THE DECISIONS!!!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Federal Bench to Obama: Oil's Well That Ends Well!

In a victory for drilling proponents, a federal judge struck down President Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, saying the administration rashly concluded that because one rig failed, the others are in immediate danger, too.

The White House promised an immediate appeal. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president believes strongly that drilling at such depths does not make sense and puts the safety of workers "at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford."

The Interior Department had halted approval of any new permits for deepwater drilling and suspended drilling of 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.

Several companies that ferry people and supplies and provide other services to offshore drilling rigs asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans to overturn the moratorium.

They argued it was arbitrarily imposed after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers and blew out the well 5,000 feet underwater. It has spewed anywhere from 67 million to 127 million gallons of oil into the Gulf.

Feldman sided with the companies, saying in his ruling the Interior Department assumed that because one rig failed, all companies and rigs doing deepwater drilling pose an imminent danger.

"The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an unprecedented, sad, ugly and inhuman disaster," he wrote. "What seems clear is that the federal government has been pressed by what happened on the Deepwater Horizon into an otherwise sweeping confirmation that all Gulf deepwater drilling activities put us all in a universal threat of irreparable harm."

His ruling prohibits federal officials from enforcing the moratorium until a trial is held. He did not set a trial date.

Monday, June 21, 2010

It Always Comes Back to Israel,....

The most interesting voice in all the fallout surrounding the Gaza flotilla incident is that sanctimonious and meddling voice known as "world opinion." At every turn "world opinion," like a school marm, takes offense and condemns Israel for yet another infraction of the world's moral sensibility. And this voice has achieved an international political legitimacy so that even the silliest condemnation of Israel is an opportunity for self-congratulation.

Rock bands now find moral imprimatur in canceling their summer tour stops in Israel (Elvis Costello, the Pixies, the Gorillaz, the Klaxons). A demonstrator at an anti-Israel rally in New York carries a sign depicting the skull and crossbones drawn over the word "Israel." White House correspondent Helen Thomas, in one of the ugliest incarnations of this voice, calls on Jews to move back to Poland. And of course the United Nations and other international organizations smugly pass one condemnatory resolution after another against Israel while the Obama administration either joins in or demurs with a wink.

No-o-o-o! Say It Ain't So!

Onetime child star Amanda Bynes, who gained fame on Nickelodeon, has retired from acting. "I don't love acting anymore so I've stopped doing it," the 24-year-old announced at 3am yesterday—on Twitter, of course. "If I don't love something anymore I stop doing it." If she's burned out, it's no surprise, notes E!: Bynes starred in two TV shows, All That and What I Like About You, while still in her teens.

Sigh,...Amanda Bynes was a rarity in today's celebrity-driven society: a teen actress who's life DIDN'T descend into that of a drug-addled loser with a rapsheet a mile long:

Please! Let This Be True!

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is expected to quit later this year after growing weary of the "idealism" of Obama staffers who are just as frustrated with him, according to sources. He'll likely step down after midterm elections, reports the Telegraph. Emanuel still maintains a good relationship with the president, but his rapport with staffers is fatally frayed, sources said. "Nobody thinks it's working but they can't get rid of him—that would look awful," said a source.

His abrasive style and willingness to make major compromises have earned him White House enemies, who have also been frustrated by his inability to pave the way for the president's legislative agenda. "It might not be his fault, but the perception is there," said a political consultant. "Every vote has been tough, from health care to energy to financial reform. Democrats have not stood behind the president in the way Republicans did for Bush, and that was meant to be Rahm's job." It's not certain what Emanuel will do next, though he has expressed an interest in running for mayor of Chicago.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Riding the So-o-o-oul Train!!

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Soul are set for an encore in the AFL.

This time, they'll be back without their headline act.

The former league champions are returning to the Arena Football League for the 2011 season without their famous former co-owner, Jon Bon Jovi.

Former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski and businessman Craig Spencer are the new majority owners.

"To a certain extent, we never left," Spencer said. "We always wanted to continue and play Arena Football."

The Soul shut down after beating the San Jose SaberCats 59-56 to win the ArenaBowl championship in 2008.

The AFL canceled its season in 2009 after a 22-year run and returned this year with 15 teams under new leadership and economic model. The season runs from April to July.

"The AFL is pleased to welcome the Philadelphia Soul back to the Arena Football family," commissioner Jerry Kurz said. "The passionate fans of Philadelphia and the surrounding area as well as the tremendous ownership group epitomize Arena Football and the league's continued commitment to the communities we serve."

Jaworski was team president in the Soul's first incarnation. Pete Ciarrocchi, owner of the Philadelphia sports bar Chickie's and Pete's, and Cosmo DeNicola are also part of the new ownership group.

Spencer said a salary cap with nonnegotiable, slotted salaries will help ease some of the financial burden that ended the original AFL. He said all players have one-year contracts, meaning the Soul will have their pick of free agents at the end of the season. There is no "expansion" draft.

Spencer said he hopes to have a coach soon, possibly by the end of the month.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Ode to Cool Hand Barry

Some men, like Bobbie Jindal and Tony Hayward, you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last month - a "blame Bush" disaster, which is the way CNN wants it... well, MSNBC gets it. I don't like it any more than you men. You'll excuse me now. My TelePrompter has failed to communicate. I must now comb the beaches of Louisiana and find an ass to kick.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Now You've Done It!

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton issued a warning to readers not to click for a photo of 17-year-old singer Miley Cyrus if they were “easily offended.”

The link was to an uncensored, up-the-skirt photograph of Cyrus stepping out of a car, seemingly without underwear.

While it was one thing for media outlets to publish pics of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears partying without panties a few years ago, the situation involving Cyrus is quite different, given that she is still a minor.An unapologetic Hilton responded to the controversy with a tongue-in-cheek video post on Tuesday, claiming that while he likes to be “controversial,” he “doesn’t want to go to jail.” He said Miley was “clearly wearing underwear” and the reason he linked to the photo was not because she was without panties, but because he thought she was exiting the car in a very “un-ladylike manner.” Hilton then posted another picture of Cyrus from the same paparazzi set, saying it was proof that she was, in fact, donning appropriate covering.

But if Hilton did nothing wrong, why did he promptly remove the post and delete it from the server?

This is certainly not the first time Hilton has attacked the “Hannah Montana” star. In 2008 he labeled the then 15-year-old a “Disney Whore" and “Disney Slut.”

And although chances are that all the extra attention surrounding the scandal would have given Hilton a temporary boost in traffic, in the long run, such controversy may have serious professional repercussions for the blogger.

Pop Tarts has learned that ABC, which is owned by Cyrus’s former stomping grounds, Disney, was quick to pull ads for “The View” from PerezHilton.com in the wake of the controversy.

However, on Tuesday evening, the TVLand ad was no longer on Hilton's site.

Those Who Forget History are Doomed to Repeat It,...

BP Plc's race to cap its ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is eerily similar to a 1979 accident off the coast of Mexico that caused the world's worst oil spill.

In both cases natural gas flowed unnoticed into the well being drilled, causing an explosion. In both cases a critical piece of fail-safe equipment -- the blowout preventer -- failed. And in both cases the operators struggled to quickly staunch the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

BP's shares have been battered in the month since its Macondo well blew up, threatening tourism, fishing and wildlife along the Gulf Coast and landing the British oil giant with a multibillion dollar clean-up tab.

But while Mexico's Ixtoc well was only 150 feet below the sea surface, Macondo lies at the crushing depth of 5,000 feet, forcing the company to use robots to do all undersea work.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Obama: Talk is Cheap, Oil Isn't,....

As we prepare for a rare, pedantic lecture from the TelePrompter-in-Chief (who's doing a heck of a job, Brownie), we all need to remind ourselves of a few things regarding the BP oil crisis:

Yes, as some point, BP and/or its subcontractors, cut corners and put production ahead of safety. It cost the lives of 11 employees and is ruining the ecenomy of a vast swath of our nation's Gulf Coast.

BP and its numerous subcontractors clearly had the techonology and engineering wherewithall to build a drilling rig out there and proceed to drill several miles into the Earth's crust ( a record depth, IIRC) to get at a large pocket of oil, so I would think they just MIGHT have the solution to this mess. This type of situation has never happened before and the learning curve (yes, that's EXACTLY what these failed attempts have been) has been terribly steep and everyone in the oil industry is watching and learning from it.

Visiting the Gulf four times, walking the beaches and looking to "kick someone's ass" isn't going to clean up the mess. Face it, President Obama: you don't have a clue how to do it and your cabinet is equally clueless to available options. You waited for weeks to address the issue and now you want to address us with your failures? Please, Mister Obama, do us all a favor and simply SHUT THE F**K UP and let BP handle this, OK?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

But,..It Sounds Nicer Than "S**tty Lemons on Wheels!"

You can see the USA in your Chevrolet, but GM would rather if you stopped driving your “Chevy” to the levee or anywhere else. The company has sent out a memo to all its employees urging them to banish the ubiquitous nickname from their vocabularies. “We’d ask that whether you’re talking to a dealer, reviewing dealer advertiser, or speaking with friends and family, that you communicate our brand as Chevrolet,” the memo read.

The memo, which was sent to the New York Times by an outraged recipient, goes on to explain that they’re trying to tighten their branding consistency, something that “the most recognized brands throughout the world, such as Coke or Apple” focus heavily on. Which is pretty ironic, the Times notes, since “Coke” is a nickname for “Coca-Cola,” and no one uses the word “Apple” when describing their products. Also ironic: the Chevrolet website is still plastered with references to “Chevy.”

Sing It With Me,......

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Verily, There's Something Rotten in the State of Rugby

I guess there's a certain perverse reasoning behind the fact that in this day and age, when our "hopefully changing" leader bows, kneels, and supplicates before our subordinates and enemies in equal measure, I should find the sponsor for the US Rugby Eagles to be:

That's right, folks. Let's have our all-American team sponsored by an airline from the heart of Islamo-terrorism!! What? Budweiser (or a REAL beer like Yuengling or Sam Adams) wasn't available? How about Ford? You know, the ONE car manufacturer that DIDN'T need the government to help them make a profit again!!

But, wait! It GETS WORSE! Below is the jersey of Paris-based union rugby club Stade Francais!

Don't adjust the colors on your monitor!! It REALLY IS PINK!! And this paid, professional sports team plays in the Heineken Cup against teams with names like the Saracens, Falcons, Tigers and Wasps??

OMFG! WTF? If I had a mind to do it, I'd drag my 47-year old, bad back, busted knees, overweight body to England, just so I could join a team and kick these pansy-colored fools into back into the stone age!!! Mon Dieu! No wonder we had to come over and win the war for these people!

Monday, June 07, 2010

I Guess Hugh Hewitt Can Call it Quits,....

Yes, it is the year 2010, despite the fact that if you read yesterday’s New York Times you may have thought it was 1998. In the Public Editor column—where, Adrian Chen notes on Gawker, “Times overlords answer questions from normal idiot readers”—managing editor Jill Abramson took a moment to answer the question on everyone’s mind: “What exactly is a blog?” Well okay, perhaps it was just on one person’s mind.

That one person is a retired editor, who wondered, “Is a blog merely the private thoughts of the blogger? Or is a blog a short news story published online?” Abramson helpfully explained that blogs offer “important, up-to-the-minute developments,” real-time updates, and a “less formal structure,” leaving Chen to wonder what’s next for the Public Editor column. Perhaps “someone asking how airplanes stay up in the sky, or What's all this talk about women getting the vote?”

Helen Thomas Succumbs to Absorbine Jr Overdose,....

White House correspondent Helen Thomas retired today amid a brouhaha surrounding her comments that Israeli Jews should "go home," reports USA Today. The 89-year-old Hearst columnist had covered every administration since JFK's, but succumbed to intense scrutiny that included a White House admonition, being dropped by her speaking agency, and being asked not to give a high school commencement address. Thomas, the author of several books, missed this morning's White House press conference.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Racism! Racism!

Racists in today's mainstream media don't go around praising the Klan, they appear on Fox News saying President Obama was born in Africa, according to Sarah Silverman. "The entire Fox News Channel is a 24-hour-a-day racism engine, but it’s all coded, all implied," she writes in her new book, Bedwetter. "Lou Dobbs used to scream on CNN about ‘immigration,’ not ‘filthy Mexicans.’”

Dress Them AS You See Fit, Just Don't Call Them BROADcasters?

(Newser) – Five female broadcast news anchors at al-Jazeera have walked out after complaining that they were harassed by a senior editor who complained about their make-up and their failure to cover their hair. The women—three from Lebanon, one from Syria, and one from Tunisia—say they were the targets of offensive remarks from the editor about their clothes and lack of decency, the Telegraph reports. They are among the most recognizable female faces in the Middle East due to the channel's popularity.

Three other female anchors at the Qatar-based channel have registered complaints but remain in their jobs. An internal al-Jazeera inquiry cleared the editor in question, saying that the channel had every right to dictate "the spirit and principles of the channel and the image it wishes to present." Sources at al-Jazeera say the dispute runs much deeper than just the dress code and that the network is increasingly split by ideological clashes.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Ummmm,..."Sword Fight?"

LOS ANGELES -- Police say a porn actor killed one colleague and injured two others with a prop weapon during a late night showdown at the Los Angeles studio where they all worked.

Police Detective Joel Price says the alleged attacker had been living at the adult entertainment business for several months but his colleagues told him he had to make other arrangements by Wednesday.

Price says Steven Hill attacked a colleague in the back of the building after work Tuesday with a machete-like weapon. Price says two others who heard the man's screams ran to help him and were also attacked before Hill fled the scene.

One of two people who tried to help died in surgery at a local hospital. The others are expected to survive.

When You Disarm a Populace,....

A veteran Mountie is expected to recover from serious stab wounds after he and a fellow investigator were attacked in the Calgary office of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team on Tuesday.

The late-morning stabbing occurred at the J.J. Bowlen Building, a former courthouse on Seventh Avenue S.W. that now houses ASIRT, the provincial agency that investigates serious cases of death or injury involving police officers.

Sgt. Andrew Johnson, a plainclothes RCMP officer assigned to ASIRT, had escorted a man who showed up without an appointment into an interview room, said Clifton Purvis, head of ASIRT.

While scuffling with the man, the Calgary police officer suffered a knife wound to his hand. He was treated at the scene.

The Mountie, who was stabbed three times in the upper torso, was taken to the Foothills Hospital in serious, life-threatening condition. He underwent surgery and is scheduled for a second operation.

And how did THIS happen in one of the most gun-controlled societies in the West??

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

If That's The Case, Then "Sieg Heil," Sarah!

(Newser) – For much of his interview with Matt Lauer this morning on the Today show, author Joe McGinnis seemed reasonable enough. Sarah Palin's least favorite new neighbor said he's not up to anything “creepy,” and that he'd “be living in this house if the Palins lived on the moon,” because it's such a good deal. But when confronted with some of the nasty comments Palin and others have made about him, he let fly with a rhetorical WMD.

The comments demonstrate “the power Palin has to incite hatred, and her readiness and willingness to do it,” he said. “She has pushed a button and unleashed the hounds of hell … and that's the same kind of tactic, and I'm not calling her a Nazi, but that's the same kind of tactic the Nazi troopers used in Germany in the '30s.” Mediaite's betting that less-than-neighborly soundbite isn't mending any 14-foot fences.

And, gentle readers, we know this to be true because it is opinion that was aired on Nothing But Communists' "Today" show; therefore, it will now be the left's daily fact-based talking points.